Fluid reactor



R. L. MAYHEW Dec. 29, 1953 FLUID REACTOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1950 b y 0 o INVENTOR. fiq AT 4,.MAYH6W BY M;

/ ATTORNEYS R. L. MAYHEW FLUID REACTOR Dec. 29, 1953 Filed June 221950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

44 FOEE/PT 4. MA w/zw BY I "KM A 'I'T'ORNEKE Patented Dec. 29, 1953 uN rED STAT-ES: PATENT QFFICE LUIDjREACTORw I Rgbert Louis Mayhem Qreat Neck, N; Y:,"assignor 'to- Hydroearbon Research, Inc., New York,

Y a corpprationof New Jersey Aenl set on June-112254 0, Serial Nosieagoc 7*Ciai ms (Cl. 23 -"-288) 2L, The, present,invention concerns,contacting a contraction without stressing the.remainder of i gasiform reactant t earn wi,th ;a dense phase the structure.

fluidized, 19 partlclegnaterialin the form.pf,.a L Thefluid phasehof. catalyst within the reactor powder or the like fon efiecting a reaction involvis supported upon aperforated partition or grid, ing a suhstantial therrnal efiect', and relatest vqrve 5 resting-upona suitablesframe. 'Therefore, the particularly,to a reactqr ;effectiye to main? reactant gases entering the bottom portion ot more, uniform.contactnbetw eni the. e ifq tmsre-u t action s nbelowe r d ibut actant angl the fiuicliz 'd ;so 1id particleswithout themselves acrossthe horizontal section of the the irregularities hereto re encountered The i inlet chamber. belcwthe partition, pass uniformly reactor is particularly ,aq pted to the. denseufiuid therethrough tothe bottjorn of the catalyst phase; phasessynthesi oifhylroearbcns frorn hydrogerr andv passupwardlyi at uniform flow rate j across h c rho lmqnozs U particle hydrocarbo q synthesis catalyst and. This effect is maximized by the essentially ver therefore will he s g ilcally des crihed in terrns tically, uninterrupted suriaces confining ,the refj h e at oe The reactor of the present invention involves j ,1 reaction zone, I a s rt tall x ent-iihscl eec iohi ess li, prov d Conduit m ans r'iorpermi tin bottomdr woff internallywith a njiultiplieity,of independent; of thecatalyst particles is disposed; coaxially; ita y, em examre on m hh be bund es. t in-t e react n inlmco duitand e c l s nde ;1i ni. ed .e t hihd e at hip nn r nne d tome. ,1QW re trsm tyt ereof; Dispattern which effects uniiforrn disposition oi j connectionjoi thecatalYst drawofi-conduit from mpera urees atiha, tub s t u out he he l mity o .theireact htii 0nduit;D transversesection or the reaction zone to for1 n.j mits its withdrawalgwhereby entry is afforded vertically extending pass ageways therelcetween; to the lower portions of the-reactor, permittingfor the catalyst and {thereactant stream; In 1' free jaccess;fqr 'assemhly; repair and f mainte p heachtube bundle;d r v s-i e endent, i nam ancl exclusive structural suppprtffror nthefabove" In order to descri bethe invention in -greater anci is susceptible A to j ingiependent removal in detail; reference; is "had )1 to v the accompanying 5 accordance with theorqlinaryrepair and;main-,- drawings wherein Fig;1: is an elevation main1y;'- tenance re zoluirements,; in section; through a reactor embodying-the To this end, each individual tube bundlecom features Of the present invention; -Fig.2-is a prises a pair of vertica1ly spaced, substantially sectional viewppart in detail and part in dia-l spherical 'hpper and lqw er headerswith a m ll-'- grammatic Iorrn,taken on;a line 2--2 of Fig.4;

.t elp e e ce h w isol'id the transv r e, .d m n ion,.,of t ac ion on 15 actants, iduringmpyvarq passage; through the;

tiplicity of vertical' water tubes therebetween. and Fig.3 is a verticalelevation partly :in sec- I The transverse sect: n of eaeh bundle of 651 tion of a somevvhatmoqlified type of tube bundle.

presents a hexagonal; peripheral arrangement; Reierringmore particularly to Fig. 1, the 're such that the severalbundles nest together; to form a uniform pattern oi tube-disposition across its extremities by upperandlower hemisphericalthe reactor. The tubes are supplied via the domes ll anclflfrespectively f I lower h ade W hja tempere ur er ul 1, 9 t r al y, thei sse *w h a, h ic t ere y.t hdiieq e ect t ansfe eta o ta pe fqratesipr er r d p rti io 14; sur malt'e ersy to r.inqmihes urmuhqih f aielwt: ng the ql s ig eriiple;h alys h refore; phase, i the reactionlqhe;strictly speaking;constitutes- An importahtnfeature of the invention involves e c amber immediately above-the partition-5m ffec g sol tructuralsupport, of each bun ,45 ini e ats .cqqupiedti yithe" nse-fluid ph se unit by suspension jfrorn the upper extremity oi ata y hfif,..f qmphht rrrentf below the partitione r a t on v eluthmu htthe edium .j h n -fin ent mi i distribution q v conduit means forwithdrawing the temperature- 0 h rea tant. as s; V p ul ti i u is in ol a tube e d n he art ti n J4 i iq m rise a a e br t. rt ca l f mithe 12p i nh palih adere 7 .150 fi fiqmpqfii actor comprises acylindricalshell- I 0,- enclosedat e iehi v p at hi this manner the en elweight of eaqh tupe "fit together to forma continuous perforated-pa a e v-tiealiqe h hevtop. t iqhiq supn rt ipa el tthsre b v mw 'Lmdiafly extending-ribs ls-ngidp rt the partition l4.

Asab veg Mutil ted. t e e ti r ace f r tidle-i i arxiedr s. oithe reacto ,s'o ,tha the'tubesremainlaterallyi, rality of sp nihe r determined}; tt .r 0i r, mitation"for;-

load of catalyst, the radial ribs or flanges E5 of the partition I4 rest upon a pair of concentric annular supports l9 and 20. Each of the (sup ports, as shown, is preferably formed of a length of pipe or tubing bent into the form of a closed ring. The outer supporting" member 2c is, in turn, supported, as shown, upon the upper extremities of a plurality of inwardly inclined, alrnularly spaced struts 22, connected to the bottom of the reaction vessel as at 23, and with the sup porting member 20, as at 24.. Preferably, these connections are pivotal, as indicated, to accommodate normal expansive and contractive strains resulting from varying temperature conditions. Ll-bolts embrace the tubular supporting rings 13 and 20 to rigidly clamp the partition plate i thereto.

The reactant feed gas enters the vertically upstanding conduit 21, through the lateral branch inlets 28 and 29, provided with flanges 32 for attachment to the feed gas source, not shown. ;;i,

For example, the inlets, or either of them, may receive synthesis gas from any suitable source. Alternately, one of the inlets may receive a fresh feed while the other receives a stream of recycle as. is flanged as at 3| to receive a closure or cap For the purpose of catalyst drawoff, the central portion of the partition plate is receives, preferably centrally thereof, a funnel-shaped receptacle or hopper 34, which may be attached thereto at its upper margin. The hopper 34 is provided, at its lower extremity, with a downwardly projecting sleeve 35 welded thereto as at 36. The sleeve 35, in turn, slidably receives a vertically extending catalyst drawoff conduit or standpipe 31. As indicated in Fig. 1', the standpipe section 31 is mounted coaxially within the cap or closure 32 covering the lower end of the reactant inlet conduit 27; therefore, by mere- 1y releasing the cover 32, the standpipe 3'2 is freely disengageable from sleeve 35 and may be withdrawn downwardly out of conduit 22'. Since in a commercial scale embodiment, conduit 2?? is of The lower end of the reactant conduit 2'! substantial internal diameter, e. g., 24 inches, it;

affords free access to the interior of the reactor Such access is vital from the standpoint of assembly and repair. For example, it is available throughout assembly up to the final step, which is accomplished simply by inserting the stand pipe 3! into the sleeve 35 and joining the cap to the flange 3|. Also, it is important in large scale, high pressure operation to avoidthestruetural complications of separate manways.

The catalyst may be emptied or withdrawn from the reactor at any time by removing a cover 38 at the bottom of the pipe 37, permitting the solid particle material to drain or be withdrawn as desired. Alternatively, in place of the cover 38, the standpipe may be fitted with a slide valve or other suitable valve discharging into a drawoff pipe.

Above the partition [4, the reactant stream passes upwardly through the fluid phase of catalyst and disengages therefrom at its upper surface into the space above the catalyst phase.

The product efiiuent stream flows into housing 39 at the upper extremity of the reactor and is withdrawn through branch line 40 for treatment and recovery of the desired products.

As indicated in the drawing, the upper surface of the catalyst phase normally rises to a level, indicated approximately by the reference numeral 4|, and the catalyst phase is maintained under uniform temperature control by cooling tubes 42 immersed therein. Referring to the individual tube bundles of Fig. 1, each comprises a multiplicity of the vertically extending tubes:

42, merging at their upper and lower ends respectively with headers 43 and 44.

It is to be particularly noted that the headerstend substantially to approximate the shape of a sphere with a transverse dimension at no place exceeding that occupied by the tubes of the bundle and is preferably considerably smaller.

In this way, the headers individually occupy relatively small portions of the transverse section of the reactor, affording suflicient free space for the passage of the reactants thereabout.

Of important significance is exclusive structural support of each tube bundle by vertical suspension through the agency of conduit means carrying the temperature-controlling fluid which occupies the interior of the tube bundle. For example, in the case of a reactor for exothermic operations such as the catalytic synthesis of hydrocarbons from synthesis gas, hereinafter referred to for purposes of illustration, the tube bundles are supplied with a liquid coolant,'as for example, water or Dowtherm (a mixture of diphenyl and diphenyl oxide). The hot vapors or liquids, as the case may be, rising in the tubes are withdrawn from the upper extremity of the tube bundle through a so-called vapor or steam tube. In the present embodiment, the vertically extending steam tube 45 extends vertically from the upper header and is suspended from the upper shell or dome H at the upper extremity of the reactor. Therefore, the entire weight of the tube bundle is imposed on the dome of the reactor, and acts counter to the internal pressure within the reactor.

Attachment of the steam tubes 45 to the shell, as shown in Figure 1, is accomplished through the medium of a plurality of thermal sleeves 4'3, permanently mounted in the dome of the re actor. It is to be noted that internal diameter of the sleeves 46 is somewhat larger than the outside diameter-of the tubes 45. However, the upper extremity of each sleeve is swagged or necked down as at 47, where it is attached to the tube by a weld. Therefore, the sleeve coaxially embraces the tube in annularly spaced relation throughout most of its vertical extent.

As indicated, the tubes 45 connect with a steam' drum to through suitable transfer lines 5|. In the steam drum, entrained liquid separates from the hot' vapors for recirculation to the tube:

bundles.

In the embodiment shown, such recirculation is accomplished by entering lower headers 44 from, an outside header or manifold 53. In turn, a branch ho is from the header 53 connects with a not shown, which connects with the drum as at 48. In this manner, provision is made for constant circulation of cooling liquid from the steam drum Ell into the lower headers as and up through the tubes 42, the resulting vapors and entrained liquid rising through steam tubes 45 for continual separation in drum 5%. Steam or other vapor thus made is withdrawn f processyusethreush as itable o d tshown. I A s ,Particulai' attention is directed to, the fact that .liduidtubes 52 are r'ela'tively jsma'lL'flexible lines which extend through. expansion patternsafter Y leaving the resp'ectiveheaders 44. Therefore,

these tubes perform no supporting function, as rev,gards the respective tube bundles and, ;in fact, "flex freely tojpermit upwardand downwardtranslation ,"of the headers 44 under the influence -of the expansive and contractive strains caused by temperature changes encountered in operation.

,Thetubes '52 p'assfreely through the partition [plate I4 to avoidany vertical stress-upon this member at any time. i i V ,A somewhat modified form of tube bun'dle which, is equally effective in accomplishing the foregoingjobj'ectives is "disclosed inFig. where- ;in similar parts are givcn similar identification ,In'umerals as; in" Fig. 1. "Inthis embodimenhwthe vcoolant supply tube, instead of joining the bottom tube' 55 to the. lower header and theupflowing" vapors pass through the annular space between tubes 45:and. 55.

Steam tube 45 is closed at its upper end and is provided with a branch pipe 56 above the reaction vessel, which connects with the steam drum as before. Water tube 55 is connected to the lower portion of the steam drum 50 to form a downcomer, as before. A drawoff cock 5'! may be provided at the bottom of lower header 44 for drainage or sediment blowoff.

With particular regard to Fig. 2 of the drawing, it is to be noted that the margin of each of the bundles follows an equal-sided hexagonal pattern designated by the dashed-line polygon identified by the letter A. In other words, the vertical axis of each of the marginal tubes is disposed along the hexagonal pattern, in equidistant relation to the adjacent tubes. The remaining tubes are distributed uniformly throughout the interior of the pattern.

This has the manifest advantage that all of the tubes in the reactor may have equal spacing from adjacent tubes thus permitting uniform disposition of the tubes across the entire cross-section of the reactor. In contrast, it will be apparent that tube bundles having a cylindrical periphery could not be nested so as to realize this desired uniformity of tube distribution.

It also has the special advantage of facilitating disassembly of the tube bundles from the reactor. For example, after lifting the central tube bundle vertically through the housing, removal of any adjacent tube bundle is effected by cutting off its steam tube 45 just below the respective thermal sleeve 46, and shifting the immediate adjacent bundles laterally a short distance. This affords suflicient clearance to permit the selected tube bundle to move into the center of the reactor and be withdrawn vertically through the housing 39. In this manner, the entire interior cooling assembly may be withdrawn or replaced.

Housing 39, as indicated, is provided with a removable cover 59, normally bolted in place, as at 65 and is ample in size to accommodate passage of any tube bundle.

From the-foregingi it, is apparent thatthe pres? -ent --'reactor 1 provides a structure-which :is suse and the like. It i is contemplated, -0f course, that the lower and also the upper extremities of the reactormay be frustoconical in shape "rather :than hemispherical. "Likewise, it .is permissible ato dispose upon the upper surface of the-perforatedgpartition plate I5 a' layer of coarse, broken, :solidmateria'l to effect maximum dispersionof the-entering feed gases intothe 'catalystamasszthereabove. In such cases, the inert solid materialmay;sr-ise to the-lower or 'even tothe-upper portionszof'sthe headers 44, sothat'the fluid catalystmasstoccupies the region about tubes 42, where 'the flow of gases is confined-and directedibyxthe vertical surfaces of the tubes-and the-s'hell I20.

*Many other modifications and'variations :ofathe invention above set forth maybem'ade without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, as will be apparenttothoS'e skilled in the art from i the foregoing, and therefore, only such limitatime should be imposed as :are indicated in 155116 appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a reactor comprising a vertically extending vessel, means for introducing a stream of reactant gas to the lower portion of said vessel, means for withdrawing the fluid products of reaction from the upper portion thereof and means for regulating the temperature within said vessel comprising a plurality of tube bundles disposed in said reactor and adapted to contain a temperature control fluid, each of said tube bundles comprising spaced upper and lower headers, a plurality of vertically extending tubes between said headers and a vertically extending conduit for said temperature control fluid extending from said upper header and connecting with the upper extremity of said reaction vessel as the support for suspending the tube bundle within said vessel, a feed pipe for the temperature control fluid connecting with said lower header, said feed pipe extending upwardly through said upper header and passing vertically and centrally through said conduit to a point beyond the upper extremity of said vessel.

2. A reactor according to claim 1 including an apertured grid plate extending across said vessel near the lower portion thereof for distributing reactant gas thereto, a solid particle drawoff receptacle set in said partition and extending downwardly therefrom, said receptacle terminating in a vertically extending sleeve and a drawoif standpipe releasably connected to the lower portion of said vessel and having its upper extremity slidably engaged within said sleeve.

3. A reactor according to claim 1 including a transversely extending partition in said vessel below said lower headers, said partition being provided with spaced perforations adapted to distribute an upflow of gas uniformly therethrough, an inlet conduit extending into said vessel below said partition for introducing a stream of reactants into the lower portion of said vessel, said inlet conduit having a. laterally extending feed pipe, and having a removable cover for its outer extremity, a solid particle drawoff standpipe of substantially smaller diameter than said conduit, mounted in said removable cover extending coaxially therethrough, and communicating with the chamber above said transverse partition to receive solid particle material therefrom, said drawoff standpipe being slidably disconnectible from said partition and thereby freely removable from the reactor by removing said inlet conduit cover.

4. A reactor according to claim 1 wherein said feed pipe is supported by the upper portion of said conduit.

5. A reactor according to claim 1 wherein said conduit and said feed pipe connect with a separating drum exterially of said vessel.

6. In a reactor comprising a vertically extending vessel, means for introducing a stream of reactant gas to the lower portion of said vessel, means for withdrawing the fluid products of reaction from the upper portion thereof, and means for supporting a mass of fluid contact material within said vessel comprising an apertured gas distributing member extending across the vessel at the lower portion thereof, a draw-off receptacle mounted in said member and extending down- Wardly therefrom, a draw-off standpipe releasably connected to the lower portion of said vessel and having its upper extremity slidably engaged with the lower portion of said draw-off receptacle vand thereby freely separable from said receptacle when the standpipe is released from said vessel.

7. In a reactor comprising a vertically extending vessel, means for introducing a stream of reactant gas to the lower portion of said vessel, means for withdrawing fluid products of reaction from the upper portion thereof, and means for supporting a mass of fluid contact material within said vessel comprising an apertured gas distributing partition extending across the vessel at the lower portion thereof, said partition being provided with spaced perforations adapted to distribute an upflow of gas uniformly therethrough, the aforesaid means for introducing the reactant gas into the lower portion of said vessel comprising an inlet conduit entering said vessel below said partition and having a removable cover at its outer extremity, a draw-off standpipe of substantially smaller diameter than said conduit mounted in said removable cover, extending centrally through said conduit and communicating with the space above said partition to receive solid particle material therefrom, said draw-off standpipe being slideably connected with said partition and, therefore, readily removable from the reactor by removing said conduit cover.

ROBERT LOUIS MAYHEW.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PAIENTS Number Name Date 2,481,089 Dickinson Sept. 6, 1949 2,518,270 Barr Aug. 8, 1950 2,527,846 Phinney et al Oct. 31, 1950 

1. IN A REACTOR COMPRISING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING VESSEL, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A STREAM OF REACTANT GAS TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID VESSEL, MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING THE FLUID PRODUCTS OF REACTION FROM THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF AND MEANS FOR REGULATING THE TEMPERATURE WITHIN SAID VESSEL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF TUBE BUNDLES DISPOSED IN SAID REACTOR AND ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A TEMPERAPRISING SPACED UPPER AND LOWER HEADERS, A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY EXTENDING TUBES BETWEEN SAID HEADERS AND A VERTICALLY EXTENDING CONDUIT FOR SAID TEMPERATURE CONTROL FLUID EXTENDING FROM SAID UPPER HEADER AND CONNECTING WITH THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF SAID REACTION VESSEL AS THE SUPPORT FOR SUSPENDING THE TUBE BUNDLE WITHIN SAID VESSEL, A FEED PIPE FOR THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL FLUID CONNNECTING WITH SAID LOWER HEADER, SAID FEED PIPE EXTENDING UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID UPPER HEADER AND PASSING VERTICALLY AND CENTRALLY THROUGH SAID CONDUIT TO A POINT BEYOND THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF SAID VESSEL.
 6. IN A REACTOR COMPRISING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING VESSEL, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A STREAM OF REACTANT GAS TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID VESSEL, MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING THE FLUID PRODUCTS OF REACTION FROM THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF, AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A MASS OF FLUID CONTACT MATERIAL WITHIN SAID VESSEL COMPRISING AN APERTURE GAS DISTRIBUTING MEMBER EXTENDING ACROSS THE VESSEL AT THE LOWER PORTION THEREOF, A DRAW-OFF RECEPTACLE MOUNTED IN SAID MEMBER AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM, A DRAW-OFF STANDPIPE RELEASABLY CONNECTED TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID VESSEL AND HAVING ITS UPPER EXTREMITY SLIDABLY ENGAGED WITH THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID DRAW-OFF RECEPTACLE AND THEREBY FREELY SEPARABLE FROM SAID RECEPTACLE WHEN THE STANDPIPE IS RELEASED FROM SAID VESSEL. 